East Dorset by-election, 1904

The East Dorset by-election was a Parliamentary by-election. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

Vacancy

Hon. Humphrey Sturt had been Conservative MP for the seat of East Dorset since the 1891 By-Election. His succession to the peerage as Baron Alington came on 17 February 1904.

Electoral history

The seat had been Conservative since they gained it in 1886. They held the seat at the last election;

General Election January 1900[1] Electorate 11,616
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Hon. Humphrey Napier Sturt	4,776	50.5	n/a
	Liberal	Arthur Acland Allen	4,680	49.5	n/a
Turnout				81.4	n/a
Majority			96	1.0	n/a
	Conservative hold		Swing	n/a

Candidates

The local Conservative Association selected 47-year-old Charles Van Raalte as their candidate to defend the seat. He was Mayor of Poole in 1903.^[2] Van Raalte was of Dutch descent and lived locally on Brownsea Island.^[3]

The local Liberal Association selected 29-year-old Hon. Charles Lyell as their candidate to gain the seat. Lyell was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Forfar and Kincardine Artillery Militia in 1900.^[4]

Campaign

Polling Day was fixed for 16 March 1904, 27 days after the previous MP went to the Lord's.

Result

The Liberals gained the seat from the Conservatives;

East Dorset by-election, 1904[5] Electorate 12,686
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Hon. Charles Henry Lyell	5,929	53.7	+4.2
	Conservative	Charles E. Van Raalte	5,109	46.3	-4.2
Turnout				87.0	+5.6
Majority			820	7.4	8.4
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+4.2

Aftermath

At the following General Election the result was;

General Election January 1906[6] Electorate 13,557
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Hon. Charles Henry Lyell	6,104	50.1	-3.6
	Conservative	C.E. Van Raalte	6,083	49.9	+3.6
Turnout				89.9	+2.9
Majority			21	0.2	6.2
	Liberal hold		Swing	-3.6

References

1. British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 by Craig
2. Who Was Who
3. http://primrose-league.leadhoster.com/brownsea/brownsea.html
4. Who Was Who
5. British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 by Craig
6. British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 by Craig